The best electronic key is the one you always have with you

Apple has applied for a patent to turn the iPhone into a universal combination …

"The best camera is the one you have with you" is an old photography adage, and Apple may be looking to extend that principle to its iPhone. And it's not about the iPhone as a camera, either—if you always have it with you, an iPhone could serve as a remote control device for any number of uses, including as a wireless electronic key.

Using the iPhone as an electronic key is part of a recently published patent application titled "Motion Based Input Selection." It's important to remember that the patent application itself merely describes a unique way of using motion detection to generate an input, such as turning a virtual combination lock-style dial. Still, it's the suggested uses of a unique numerical sequence or other combination of input that is generating excitement.

The Telegraph says that the patent is already being referred to as the "iKey" patent, based on the suggestion that a "device" such as an iPhone could use the motion-based input method to generate a combination which is then "transmitted to an external device to unlock the external device." Such an external device could be anything, including an "electronic lock that may be used to access a door, car, house, or other physical area."

The patent in particular describes methods in which the input could be selecting combinations of numbers, letters, colors, or images, or even a combination. In fact, if the external device is suitably capable, it can send an application the necessary configuration of input needed to unlock it. The possible inputs can also be randomized, and the transmission between the mobile device and the external device could encrypted for greater security.

Since the iPhone is the kind of device you tend to always have with you, it could be a great all-in-one control device. For instance, Apple also recently filed a patent application for using the iPhone as a sort of advanced universal remote—one that can dim the lights, adjust the surround sound, switch the TV to "cinema mode," all in preparation for watching a movie at night. The company already offers an app that can control iTunes or an Apple TV remotely, and other apps exist to control home automation systems or a DSLR tethered to a WiFi-equipped computer. Car security firm Viper also offers an app to lock, unlock, and remotely start a vehicle that has the company's SmartStart electronics installed.

Though many remote applications already exist for the iPhone—including one that locks and unlocks a car—perhaps Apple could leverage the patent's motion sensing to build an app with a consistent interface that is designed to communicate with a wide variety of lock devices, making the iPhone an out-of-the-box electronic key.